Pete Sessions: “Today on the floor of the House of Representatives we are considering the issue of mental health parity. Unfortunately…”

“Today on the floor of the House of Representatives we are considering the issue of mental health parity. Unfortunately, some of my colleagues have clouded this important issue with extensive and over-burdensome regulations. As a supporter of mental health parity it is regrettable that I can not support the bill at hand. With over 50 million adults suffering from mental disorders it is necessary that there is access to mental health services. The Senate has passed legislation on parity that will allow access to these needed services, and I applaud and support their efforts. As a long time supporter of the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act, it is disappointing that this legislation was coupled in with the over regulated mental health parity bill. Congress has taken great strides over the last few years towards adequately protecting an individual's genetic information and encouraging lifesaving genetic testing. Attaching this legislation to the flawed parity bill puts those efforts to shame. Congress should take up the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act on its own and allow those, like myself, to vote in favor of the bill.”